The UK government has been accused of being "asleep at the wheel" as the number of people out of work due to long-term sickness soars.
New research from the Office for National Statistics shows a third of working age adults have at least one long-term health condition and the number of us economically inactive because of long-term sickness has risen to over 2.5 million people.
That's a 400,000 increase since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with warnings the country faces a labour shortage by 2030.
For those economically inactive because of long-term sickness, nearly two-fifths (38%) reported having five or more health conditions (up from 34% in 2019), suggesting that many have interlinked and complex health issues.
The most prevalent condition was mental health issues, with 12% of those responding stating that this was their largest health condition.
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More than half of those surveyed who were economically inactive (53%) stated that they had depression, bad nerves or anxiety, with over one million of them naming those as a secondary health condition.
Between 2019 and 2023, the number of people inactive because of long-term sickness who reported depression, bad nerves or anxiety rose by 386,000 (40%). Most of this increase was from people reporting it as a secondary health condition (increased 50% over the same period), whereas it only increased by 14% as a main health condition.
The proportion that has five or more health conditions for those aged 35 to 49 years has stayed constant (31%), but there has been an increase in the proportion that has three or four conditions (29% in 2019 and 31% in 2023).
For those individuals suffering with long-term health conditions who were in employment, the sickness absence rate in 2022 was 4.9%, the highest it has been since 2008.
The ONS said a large volume of the increase in long-term sickness volumes has come from the large number of 'baby boomers' who are approaching retirement.
It had forecast that around 40,000 extra people would be expected to become inactive because of long-term sickness as a result of the changing age composition of the population, but the actual change over the same time period was much larger at 462,000.
In addition, the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey on winter pressures (from 15 February to 26 February 2023) showed that 33% of those inactive - excluding retired - were waiting for NHS treatment.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Ministers are asleep at the wheel as ill-health and work-related stress reach epidemic levels.
“It’s time for action on what is forcing people out of the labour market.
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“The government must fix the crisis in our NHS that leaves millions waiting months or even years for treatment. They must support people with long Covid and make sure every disabled worker gets the reasonable adjustments they need.
“And they must make sure every job is a good job. That means workers having stronger rights to retrain and work flexibly so that more can stay in work.
“Managers need to do far more to reduce the causes of stress and support workers struggling to cope.
“This means tackling issues like excessive workloads and workplace bullying. Toxic workplaces are bad for staff and for productivity.
“My advice to anyone experiencing stress, anxiety and depression at work is to join a union.”
David Sinclair, Chief Executive of the International Longevity Centre - UK, the UK’s leading authority on the impact of longevity on society called for more to be done to invest in preventative health.
He said: “With one third of us reporting a long-term health condition and 2.5 million economically inactive because of long term sickness we face a sickness crisis.
"ILC research reveals that the UK faces a shortfall of 2.6 million workers by 2030. Our economy will wither without investment in prevention as the UK ages and becomes sicker.
"Higher spending on preventative health results in longer working lives, more consumption, more volunteering and more caring. The UK should follow Canada’s lead and spend 6% of its health budget on preventative health.
"The nature of the challenge is more serious than painted in the data as it doesn’t take into account all older workers. Perplexingly, the ONS define working age as people aged 16 to 64 despite the fact that the state pension age is now 66 and most 16 to 18 year olds are not in work.”
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